I am looking for a spey rod to fish the middle of my favorite lake. I think I want a 5/6 wt. rod blank to build on. Any suggestion on where to get such an animal? Do I need a special reel and line for such a rod? Thanks for your help.

John , I started to dabble with spey rods and casting last summer , it's quite a different ball game from standard fly casting ( in my oppinion ) . You do need a different line , and a lot of time to practice casting . There are a few different sites on spey casting , non of which I book marked . As far as advice on a rod / blank , Bob Meiser is the king of the hill , and well respected builder in that field . His site is on the left of the page. I had the privledge of speaking with Bob over the phone last summer, and he was very helpfull in giving me advice on a blank and set-up for a rod for my perticular application . Bob is a great guy to talk to , I wish I could have picked his brain for hours . Simon Gawesworth has a book , Spey Casting, by Stackpole books which is a great text description of the different casting strokes and presentations . The book is loaded with great photos and illustrations of the do's and don'ts of csating and fishing . You'll have to do some digging to get all the info you need , it is quite an interesting style of fishing , and I think you will find it a whole new look on throwing a fly . Have fun , John

Got Fish ?

The Forecast blanks will fit the bill without breaking the bank. I'm working on a 7/8 weight. Lots of sponsors carry them, some as kits with everything you need. Rob Meiser is a real guru on this stuff & can answer your questions. Also, the Batson folks (Forecast's makers) are extreamly helpful with questions. You will need a Spey line designed for the casting techniques and a reel big enough to hold all the line & some backing.

Have fun,

Tim

You might want to look at Mudhole's new catalog. They list some SCIV and SCIII series spey blanks from St. Croix as well as some from Sage. They are all more expensive than the Forcast double handers from Batson though. I got one of the Forcast spey blanks from FishSticks4U a few months ago and it is just a super blank. It has a somewhat faster action than one of the Cascade Composit's speys that I got from Mudhole but those are probably sold out by now. Might be worth a call to them if you are interested but regardless, the Forcast's are a great buy for both the quality and the price.
I wonder if anybody here has tried the Burkheimer speys. Lamar Reel Seats is a dealer for Burkheimer but he doesn't list them as a stocking item and considering the price, I just wonder if anyone has tried them and would say that they are worth the money.
Maybe Dan Craft will offer spey blanks in the future. Imagine, a 15 foot long fast taper "rocket launcher". Sorry, just dreaming!
Good Luck

Hi John,

Could you share your thoughts a bit more about why your considering a spey rod for your lake fishing ?

Bob Meiser

I built a 11'6" spey rod for use with standard WF6F line.
The length is perfect when sitting low in the water!
Using 2 hands all day is easier than one!

Send me an email if you want more info.
RB

Right On Robert....

The shorter 10'6" to 11'6" two handed rods are perfect for walled boats or kick boats.

That's what I was hoping to discuss...};^)...!!!

Bob Meiser